American activist Sylvia Rivera was BOTD in 1951. Born in New York City to a Puerto Rican father and a Venezuelan mother, she was orphaned in childhood and raised by her grandmother. Rivera identified as female from early childhood and began wearing make-up at school, triggering her grandmother’s disapproval. She left home aged 10, living on the streets and supporting herself with sex work. She was adopted by the local trans community, notably Marsha P. Johnson, who became her friend and mentor. She and Johnson campaigned for the Gay Liberation Front and formed the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, providing support for homeless queer and trans youth. Rivera frequently claimed that she was a leader at the 1969 Stonewall Riots, which has been largely discredited. In later life, she advocated for anti-discrimination laws in New York City and support for homeless people. By the early 2000s, she complained of being marginalised by the white cis-gendered gay rights movement. She struggled throughout her life with homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness, dying in 2002 aged 50. Amongst posthumous tributes, she was inducted into the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at the Stonewall National Monument in 2019.